Composition-Driven Structural Regulation of Fe-Co Aerogels for High-Current-Density Hydrogen Evolution.
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
- 2Center for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), 5 Hwarang-ro 14-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.
- 3Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Dankook University, 119 Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan 31116, Republic of Korea.
- 4Aerogel Materials Research Center, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
Abstract
Cost-effective alkaline water electrolysis requires non-precious-metal electrocatalysts that sustain the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at high current densities while maintaining favorable interfacial kinetics and an accessible electrode structure. Here, Co incorporation was used to suppress the long-range crystalline order of Fe and generate poorly crystalline Fe-Co aerogels through one-pot NaBH₄ reduction, gelation, and freeze-drying. A Fe100-xCox series (x = 0, 60, 80, and 100; nominal feed compositions) was examined to determine how composition-induced structural changes affect network morphology, interfacial accessibility, and high-current HER behavior. Among the series, FeCo60-A formed the finest interconnected particle network and exhibited the largest BET surface area (34.1 m² g⁻¹), a high double-layer capacitance (1.04 mF cm⁻²), and the smallest apparent Nyquist arc. After iR correction, it required overpotentials of 345, 520, and 685 mV to reach 100, 500, and 1000 mA cm⁻², respectively, and maintained a nearly constant potential during 24 h operation at -1000 mA cm⁻² while largely retaining its interconnected porous morphology. These results demonstrate that Co incorporation into the Fe-based aerogel framework effectively tunes structural order and interfacial characteristics, enabling improved HER performance under high-current alkaline conditions.
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BibTeX
@article{kim2026compositiondriven,
title = {{Composition-Driven Structural Regulation of Fe-Co Aerogels for High-Current-Density Hydrogen Evolution.}},
author = {Sang-Hyun Kim and Haryeong Choi and Younghun Kim and Taehee Kim and Hyung-Ho Park},
journal = {Gels (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/gels12100932},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42929966},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Composition-Driven Structural Regulation of Fe-Co Aerogels for High-Current-Density Hydrogen Evolution.
AU - Sang-Hyun Kim
AU - Haryeong Choi
AU - Younghun Kim
AU - Taehee Kim
AU - Hyung-Ho Park
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Gels (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/gels12100932
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42929966
AB - Cost-effective alkaline water electrolysis requires non-precious-metal electrocatalysts that sustain the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at high current densities while maintaining favorable interfacial kinetics and an accessible electrode structure. Here, Co incorporation was used to suppress the long-range crystalline order of Fe and generate poorly crystalline Fe-Co aerogels through one-pot NaBH₄ reduction, gelation, and freeze-drying. A Fe100-xCox series (x = 0, 60, 80, and 100; nominal feed compositions) was examined to determine how composition-induced structural changes affect network morphology, interfacial accessibility, and high-current HER behavior. Among the series, FeCo60-A formed the finest interconnected particle network and exhibited the largest BET surface area (34.1 m² g⁻¹), a high double-layer capacitance (1.04 mF cm⁻²), and the smallest apparent Nyquist arc. After iR correction, it required overpotentials of 345, 520, and 685 mV to reach 100, 500, and 1000 mA cm⁻², respectively, and maintained a nearly constant potential during 24 h operation at -1000 mA cm⁻² while largely retaining its interconnected porous morphology. These results demonstrate that Co incorporation into the Fe-based aerogel framework effectively tunes structural order and interfacial characteristics, enabling improved HER performance under high-current alkaline conditions.
SN - 2310-2861
ER -